Dark Waters preview
by nexta
Summary: Oneshot based on the Pokemon Omega Ruby Alpha Sapphire demo, being used as a preview for a fanfic based on the full game.


Nate clutched to Steven's jacket as they flew, eyes watering from the rush of air. The 14-year-old male was riding with the Hoenn Champion atop Latios, towards Mossdeep City. Nate wasn't completely sure what was going to happen, but he was quite happy of the opportunity to experience an adventure with a Trainer of such high-caliber, especially as he hoped to become a Trainer himself soon. Eventually, the Latios landed, or whatever Latios counted as landing, considering it continued to levitate above the ground. Nate and Steven climbed off of the Pokemon, Nate adjusting his hat a bit.

"And we've arrived," Steven said. "Thank you, Latios, you've helped immensely."

Latios gave a cry and flew off, and Steven turned to Nate. "This is Mossdeep City. There's a Space Center here where scientists work night and day on research into space travel. And that's why we're here."

Nate blinked. "To...go into space?"

Steven smiled a bit at the teenager's response and shook his head. "A friend sent me a message telling me that some rather unsavory characters have been trying to steal his research results for themselves. We should head to the Space Center immediately." And with that, he walked off, leaving Nate to hurry after him. As they climbed the stairs to the impressive building, Steven turned to Nate once again. "This is the Space Center, the Professor should be waiting inside," he said as they approached the doors. Suddenly, they slid open and out came two figures dressed in red hoods, black 'M' symbols across the chest. They stopped and glared at Steven and Nate as they too came to a halt.

"You're planning to meddle in the affairs of Team Magma, aren't you?" said one of them, a female. "Well, don't think we'll hold back, even if one of you is a child and the other is a stunning male specimen!"

"Hey now, there's no need to call Steven a child," Nate quipped, drawing looks from the hooded pair.

"You think you're funny, don't you, you little punk?"

"Maybe."

Steven intervened before things could go any further. "I presume we'll have to battle our way through this situation," he said, turning to Nate. "Will you you battle at my side?" he asked.

Nate blinked. "Well, I don't have-" He was interrupted by Steven holding out three Pokeballs to him.

"Pick one of these three Pokemon, and help me defeat these ne'er-do-wells!"

Nate looked down at the Pokeballs, noticing stickers affixed to them. One was a green leaf, the second a flame, and the third, a water droplet. Not really thinking his choice over, Nate grabbed the one with the leaf and turned to the male of the hooded pair. "Alright then, bring it!" He said, a bit nervous now that he was being thrust into direct conflict. He stayed focused on the Trainer that he was facing, not paying much attention to the sounds of battle going on beside him. The male tossed out a Pokeball releasing the small canine Pokemon known as Poochyena. Nate swallowed and tossed out his own Pokeball, sending a green lizard-like Pokemon that Nate remembered was called Grovyle.

Nate's opponent ordered the Poochyena to use Tackle and Nate panicked a bit as the Pokemon charged forward. "Uh...use...Leaf Blade!" Nate shouted, that being the first attack that popped into his head that Grovyle could learn. The small protrusions on Grovyle's wrists glowed a bright green, extending until they were long and blade-like. Grovyle dashed forward and slashed right through the Poochyena, which gave a hurt cry and fell to the ground, leaving Nate to stare at the one-hit KO. Either this Pokemon was really strong, or this guy was just really weak. The hooded male recalled his Pokemon and Nate finally turned his attention to Steven and the female, whose battle was already over.

"It doesn't matter!" said the male, still not giving up on his their bravado. "Team Magma already knows the location of that Mega-Evolving Pokemon, and we will obtain it first!" And with that, the hooded pair ran off. Nate blinked and watched them run off. "What's a Team Magma?" He asked, looking at Steven who just shrugged.

"I've never heard of them, but they seem like they're up to no good."

Before Nate could respond, a man who appeared to be a middle-aged Scientist exited the Space Center and him and Steven struck up a conversation. Nate spent that time with the Grovyle he was now borrowing, managing to find out what other moves it knew. He looked up as Steven approached.

"What's up?"

"We need to make haste to an island where a special Pokemon capable of Mega-Evolving resides, to make sure Team Magma doesn't get their hands on it."

"Uh...sure?"

Steven called upon Latios once again to take them to the island. It was a small island, consisting mostly of cliffs and caves. Latios dropped them off in front of one cave entrance surrounded by a small forest area. Steven turned to Nate. "It seems there are two teams, known as Team Magma and Team Aqua, and they both are looking for that Pokemon, and have beaten us here. I'll search the forest." He pointed towards the cave. "Can you search over there?"

Nate nodded and moved off, running towards the cave entrance. On the way there, he dealt with a couple of wild Pokemon, and defeated two Team Magma members guarding the cave entrance. He shook his head and moved into the cave. He didn't get far before seeing a girl dressed in red and a pair of white short shorts confronting a pair of two dark-skinned figures dressed in blue and white striped shirts. He recognized the girl as his next-door neighbor, Ashley, the daughter of Professor Birch and came closer just in time to her call them weirdos in stripes. The male of the pair that Nate assumed worked for Team Aqua turned to his comrade, a female. "Are we being unfair? Are we just weirdos in bad outfits?"

The female gave her companion a rather scathing look. "What are you talking about? We're Team Aqua! We can do whatever we must in the name of Pokemon! Plus, I dunno about you, but I totally rock this outfit! Do you see this midriff? I've got more style than I know what to do with!"

As their conversation continued, Nate walked over, catching Ashley's attention.

"Nate? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"My Dad wanted me to come and do some research on the Pokemon that live on these islands."

"And...these...pirates?"

"All I know is that they're up to no good!"

"Right..." Nate stepped forward and spoke up. "Uh...hey."

The Team Aqua members whirled to face him. "More interference!"

"Get him!"

The two sent out theire Pokemon, a Zubat and a Carvanha, taking advantage of many Water-Pokemon's ability to just float around and breathe air. Nate didn't understand it, but he made short work of the Aqua members with Grovyle. He grinned as the Aqua members complained and ran off. He turned to his Grovyle to praise it, only to see it start glowing brightly. "Wha-" He watched as the Pokemon shifted and changed, before the glow faded. While still a green lizard, it had yellow orbs on his back and a tail that somewhat resembled a pine tree. "Scep..." It muttered. It took Nate a moment to realize that his Grovyle had evolved into a Sceptile. "Well, that was unexpected," he said before turning to Ashley. "So, that's taken care of now."

"Yeah, but there's two more guys that went up ahead when I was chasing after those two dressed in blue. They seem stronger than those underlings..."

Nate shrugged. "I think I can handle it," he said as he pressed onward. As he moved forward, he could hear voices, becoming clearer as he got closer.

"Look at you, little Makuhita man!" A deep, gruff voice spoke, followed by a shrill shouter.

"You dare to compare ME, Tabitha, the next Chief Admin of Team Magma to a Makuhita?! You'd better at least make it a Hariyama, you brainless brute!"

"You're pretty funny! I love funny, interesting dudes! That's why I love my bro, Archie! Alright, bro! Let's smash it out with a battle!"

Before the other voice could respond, Nate grew close enough to see the owners of the voices. One was a large, buff dark-skinned man, and a shorter, rather rotund fellow. As he got closer, they noticed him and turned their attention- and aggression- towards him.

The short one, the owner of the shrill voice, and thus the one named Tabitha spoke first. "Oh? It seems this child is here to interfere with our plans." He turned to the large male. "I say we call a truce and work together to deal with this impudent brat."

"Great idea, bro!" The larger male agreed almost immediately and they both moved forward. "Let's rough you up real nice!"

Nate swallowed and took a step back, holding his hands up to try and placate them. "Look, guys...I came outside to have a good time and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now."

The situation was averted by Steven running up and standing beside him, a bag slung over his shoulder now. "Sorry I'm late," he said. He glanced at Nate's Sceptile. "I see you got your Pokemon to evolve. Good." He moved forward. "Here, take this." He handed Nate a bracelet that had a gem set into it. Nate slipped it on and looked at it. "What is it?"

"That bracelet is set with a mysterious gem known as a Key Stone." Steven then gave Sceptile a necklace that was inset with another stone. "By combining the Mega Bracelet with the Mega Stone Sceptile know has, you can unlock a new level of power."

"Um..what?" Nate asked, thoroughly confused.

"I can tell that you and Sceptile have a strong bond, despite you two not being together very long. Just follow my lead," Steven said, turning to face their opponents. "I suppose these two are pretty high-up in their teams, though I'm surprised they're working together."

Tabitha finally cut in. "Enough of this! We'll take you down right now!" He spat out, throwing out a Pokeball, releasing a Camerupt, while the large male sent out a Sharpedo.

Sceptile stepped in front of Nate, while Steven sent out his own Pokemon, a Metagross. Unlike most Metagross however, Steven's was silver, with a gold X on it's face. Nate gave a small whistle. "A shiny..."

Steven reached for the stick pin he wore, which had it's own Key Stone. He pressed two fingers to it, causing it glow brightly. Energy surged from the stick pin into a stone chained to Metagross' leg. The stone absorbed the energy which then flowed around Metagross and after a flash of light, it had changed, though it just looked like two Metagross put together. Nate blinked and looked at the bracelet and pressed his fingers against the Key Stone. He gave a small shout as Sceptile's Mega Stone absorbed the energy the Key Stone gave off, transforming into a new form as well. It seemed mostly the same, although the tail looked even more like a tree now. He honestly had no idea what was going on here, but he was distracted by Steven's command. "Use Giga Impact!" The Metagross surrounded itself with energy and barreled forward, smashing into the Camerupt. Steven then turned to Nate. "Tell your Pokemon to use Frenzy Plant."

"Uh..." Nate looked at Sceptile. "Use Frenzy Plant?"

Sceptile cried out loudly, it's eyes glowing a bright green. Spiked roots burst from the ground and shot towards the Sharpedo, whipping it repeatedly until it fell over, unconcious, as was the Camerupt that Steven's Metagross had attacked.

The Magma and Aqua members returned their Pokemon, Tabitha seething with rage. "Just you wait...I won't forget this!"

The Aqua member seemed to be in a good mood, however. "Now that was a good battle! I can't wait to take you on again!" he said as both he and Tabitha took off, leaving Steven and Nate behind. Steven recalled his Pokemon while Sceptile reverted to its normal form. Nate shook his head. "What was that?"

"Mega Evolution. When a Trainer and Pokemon have a strong bond, the Trainer can use Mega Evolution to attain a new level of power."

"I see..." He looked at Sceptile and patted its head lightly, which it seemed to enjoy.

Steven smiled. "Come on, that Mega-Evolving Pokemon should be somewhere around here. Let's go find it!" He then raced off again, leaving Nate to follow. It didn't take long for them to find a weird ice ball with a face and horns.

"Well, that's a weird one..." Nate mentioned, looking at Steven.

"That must be it," Steven replied, handing Nate five empty Pokeballs. "Try capturing it."

Nate nodded and looked at the Pokemon. "Alright, Sceptile, Leaf Blade!" Sceptile moved forward and slashed at the Ice Pokemon which dodged and charged at Sceptile. The ramming attack was blocked by Sceptile's Leaf Blades, the two Pokemon clashing again and again until Sceptile managed to score a direct hit. "Frenzy Plant!" Sceptile summoned forth the spiky roots once again, which immediately assaulted the Ice Pokemon. Nate chucked a Pokeball at it when it fell to the ground. The Pokeball absorbed the Pokemon and began to shake uncontrollably before remaining still. Nate picked it up, blinking. "I..caught it." Then something else caught his eyes and he picked it up. "I think this is one of those stones, he said, showing Steven, who nodded.

"Yes, that Glalie is capable of Mega Evolution. You'll be able to unleash its power during your next battle."

"Oh, cool!"

"Yes, but for now we should head back to Mossdeep City."

"Right."

One Latios ride later, they were back in Mossdeep.

"Well, that was an unexpected adventure. I'm hoping that this is over, but who knows what Teams Aqua and Magma will get up to later."

Nate nodded, more interested in his new Glalie which just kinda floated around.

"But that's enough for one day, it's getting late. I should take you home now."

Nate nodded again, watching the skies as Steven called upon Latios again, seeing as it liked to fly again after being used. It had been a long day, and those Teams worried him a bit, but he was barely a Trainer and he'd be giving the Pokemon back to Steven when he got home. But this just reaffirmed his desire to become a Pokemon Trainer. He wouldn't let anything stop him from reaching his goals.

-

Yeah, it gets pretty messy in places, but sudden inspiration struck me and I just started typing. I plan to write a fanfic based upon the full game, and hope that I'll get better as that goes on. So...look forward to that, if you want. Read and review or whatever it is that you say around here.


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